Researchers at the University of Northwestern think sketching exercises are underutilized in school classrooms.

Sketching can help students process and absorb information, studies show, but drawing exercises can be difficult for teachers to monitor and assess.

"Intelligent tutoring systems, which enable students to receive feedback on their work anywhere and anytime, rarely are capable of understanding sketches," Ken Forbus, a software engineer at Northwester, said in a news release.

Enter "Sketch Worksheets," a new software program designed by Forbus and his colleagues. Sketch Worksheets can analyze a student's progress and offer feedback in real time.

Researchers recently detailed the technology in the journal Topics in Cognitive Science.

The software system relies on spatial analogies to grade student sketches. The system compares the positioning of components from the student's sketch to the teacher's -- confirming, for example, that Earth's core is positioned inside the mantle or that the heart's aorta is placed above the left atrium.

As part of the study, Northwestern researchers had some 500 students use the software during sketch exercises related to biology, geoscience and engineering. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have already composed 26 sketches for instructional use in introductory geoscience classes.

"We hope that others will follow the lead of the geoscientists and create Sketch Worksheets to help their students learn," Forbus said. "This is a step in creating software that can communicate with people as flexibly as we communicate with each other."

Tweet

Toddlers playing with touchscreens sleep less: study
Paris (AFP) April 13, 2017
The more toddlers play with touchscreen devices the less they sleep, according to a study released Thursday that suggests the findings could be cause for concern. For every additional hour using a touchscreen phone or tablet during the day, children aged six months to three years slept nearly 16 minutes less in each 24 hour period, researchers reported in the journal Scientific Reports. ... read more

Related Links
Satellite-based Internet technologies

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only